Synthesis of IPN-related materials from solution of polyacrylates

IPN-related materials were synthesized from solution of two acrylate polymers having epoxide. From the dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, it was difficult to distinguish IPN or semi-IPN from mechanical blend in the case of PEMA/P2EHMA system. But some possibility of IPN phenomenon was observed. In the case of PEMA/PEA system, IPN synthesized from benzene-chloroform mixed solvent showed phase separation with the matrix of PEMA. IPN synthesized from xylene, however, showed phase separation with the matrix of PEA and the transition due to PEA shifted higher by 5°C than that of homo PEA. From the results, we concluded that PEMA/PEA system synthesized by xylene showed JPN phenomenon.     

Effects of rare-earth element substitution on magnetostrictive properties of polycrystalline Tb-Dy-Fe alloys

Magnetostrictive properties of (Tb/sub 0.5/Dy/sub 0.5/)/sub 1-x/RE/sub x/Fe/sub 1.9/ (x=0-0.05, RE=Y, Ce, Sm, Gd, Ho, Yb) polycrystalline compounds were studied. Each rare-earth element formed a RE-Fe/sub 2/ Laves compound with a different lattice spacing. Corresponding to this difference, (Tb/sub 0.5/Dy/sub 0.5/)/sub 0.95/RE/sub 0.05/Fe/sub 1.9/ alloys showed a variation in lattice spacing as a result of the substitution of rare-earth elements and the prestress dependence of magnetostriction changed noticeably. In the case of Y, Sm, and Gd substitution, which showed greater lattice spacing than that of the Tb/sub 0.5/Dy/sub 0.5/Fe/sub 1.9/ alloy, the prestress dependence and maximum magnetostriction decreased. On the other hand, in the case of Ce, Ho, and Yb substitution, which showed a decrease in lattice spacing, the conspicuous prestress dependence was the same as that of the Tb/sub 0.5/Dy/sub 0.5/Fe/sub 1.9/ alloy and the maximum magnetostriction was greater than that of the latter alloy.     

Methylation of pyridin-2-one with methanol over γ-alumina in vapor phase

The acid-base properties of 10 wt% V₂O₅-SiO₂ and 10 wt% TiO₂-SiO₂ binary mixed oxide aero- and xerogels were determined by studying the transformation of methyloxirane and 1-butane. The transformations (the isomerization of methyloxirane to propanal and the double-bond migration of 1-butene to form isomeric 2-butenes) indicate that all samples contain mainly acidic sites. Correlations are shown to exist between heteroconnectivity (derived from FTIR analysis) in conjunction with the textural properties and the catalytic performance. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A 0.8-dB insertion-loss, 17.4-dBm power-handling, 5-GHz transmit/receive switch with DETs in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process

An optimized single-pole double-throw (SPDT) transmit/receive (T/R) switch has been fabricated using depletion-layer-extended transistors (DETs) in a 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process. The switch features the highest performance to date of any switch using a CMOS process, of a 0.8 dB insertion-loss, 23 dB isolation and 17.4 dBm power-handling capability at 5 GHz. The low insertion-loss has been achieved with the effects of junction capacitance decrease and substrate resistance increase in the DET, the adoption of low-loss shielded-pads, and several layout optimizations. The high power-handling capability is owing to the combined effect of the adoption of the source/drain dc biasing scheme and the high substrate resistance in the DET.     

980 nm band pumped Er/sup 3+/-doped tellurite-based fibre amplifier with low-noise figure of less than 4.5 dB

The amplification characteristics of an Er/sup 3+/-doped tellurite-based fibre amplifier (EDTFA) with 980 nm band pumping are described. The optimum pump wavelength and length of the newly developed EDTF are investigated in order to obtain both a low noise figure and a high gain simultaneously. We realise a low noise figure of less than 4.5 dB with a pump wavelength of 976.5 nm and a 0.4 m EDTF.     

Effects of repeated cold stress on feeding, avoidance behavior, and pain-related nerve fiber activity

BACKGROUND: Estimation of the mu-agonist opioid effect in anesthetized and paralyzed patients is often imprecise and can be obscured by concomitant administration of drugs that affect the sympathetic nervous system, such as beta-adrenergic blocking agents. As an alternative to hemodynamic measures of opioid effect, the authors tested the hypothesis that the pupillary light reflex or pupillary reflex dilation correlated with alfentanil concentrations during isoflurane anesthesia. METHODS: Six volunteers were anesthetized on 4 days with 0.8% isoflurane. Alfentanil was administered intravenously to target total plasma concentrations of 0, 25, 50, and 100 ng/ml. A 5-s tetanic electrical stimulus was applied to the skin. Pupil size and the pupillary light reflex were recorded before and after alfentanil administration, and before and for 8 min after the stimulus. RESULTS: Alfentanil exponentially impaired reflex pupillary dilation, decreasing the maximum response amplitude from 5 mm at 0 ng/ml, to 2.3 mm at 25 ng/ml, to 1.0 mm at 50 ng/ml, and finally to 0.2 mm at 100 ng/ml. In contrast, only the highest concentration of alfentanil depressed the dilation of the pupil in the first 2 s after the stimulus. Alfentanil administration had no effect on the pupillary light reflex. CONCLUSIONS: Dilation of the pupil in response to a noxious stimulus is a measure of opioid effect in isoflurane-anesthetized volunteers. In contrast, the pupillary light reflex is unaffected by alfentanil during isoflurane anesthesia. These data suggest that stimulus-induced pupillary dilation may be used to evaluate the analgesic component of a combined volatile and opioid anesthetic.     

Oral manifestations and differential diagnosis of isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy: report of two cases

Isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy is rare, but occasionally it appears as the initial or solitary sign of an intracranial or extracranial space-occupying lesion, a head and neck injury, or a vascular abnormality of the internal carotid artery. Therefore it should be considered in differential diagnosis. We report two cases of isolated unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy. In Case 1 the cause of the palsy appeared to be hypoglossal nerve neurilemmoma within the hypoglossal canal, whereas in Case 2 the cause could not be identified. Neither patient complained of any disability other than slight dysarthria. The tongue deviated toward the healthy side at rest and toward the affected side on protrusion. Hemiatrophy of the tongue with fatty displacement was demonstrated by means of T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Dentists who might at times see patients with isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy should be aware of the significance of its oral manifestation, and they should be able to perform differential diagnosis of patients with the condition who appear for treatment.     

0.15-μm buried-channel p-MOSFETs with ultrathin boron-dopedepitaxial Si layer

We demonstrated silicon MOSFETs with a counter-doped ultrathin epitaxial channel grown by low-temperature UHV-CVD; this allows the channel region to be doped with boron with high precision. The boron concentration and epitaxial layer thickness can be chosen independently, and so it is easy to adjust the threshold voltage of the buried-channel p-MOSFETs with n-type polysilicon gates. It was confirmed that choosing an ultrathin epitaxial layer at 10 nm leads to suppression of the short-channel effects in buried-channel p-MOSFETs with gate length down to 0.15 μm, while maintaining an appropriate value of threshold voltage     

Association between dopamine D4 receptor (D4DR) exon III polymorphism and novelty seeking in Japanese subjects

Only five cases of paraganglioma of the prostate have been reported hitherto. The tumours may be functional (phaeochromocytomas) or non-functional and benign or malignant. We present a sixth case--a non-functional, benign paraganglioma of the prostate--with a review of the literature.